More on LinuxToday

ZDNet UK: Stallman: Patents Victimize Developers

"To Richard Stallman, software patents are a sort of lottery,
bringing benefits to people only rarely.

"Stallman is well known among free software fans as the writer
of the GNU Public License, the licensing model used by most
open-source software writers to ensure that their software remains
in the public domain.

"Speaking here earlier this week at the Cambridge University
Computer Lab on the issue of software patents, Stallman began by
explaining that he doesn't have a problem with patenting individual
programs -- 'that would be harmless' -- but with patenting
ideas..."